Martin Luther King Day

June Trzcinka was named "Employee of the Month" in December by Osceola County Clerk of Court Armando Ramirez. A cashier in the criminal division, she received nine "Above Expectations" ratings out of a possible 13 in her last review. "June's remarkable accuracy when performing all tasks, even those outside her normal responsibilities is exceptional," her supervisor wrote. Now she's out of work and receiving unemployment. "How can I go from that to being such a terrible, negative person and get fired?" asked Trzcinka. Records show on March 24, courthouse employees were told they must work weekend community events without additional pay...

Related "Martin Luther King Day" Articles

Young and old, working and retired, military and civilian. The Hampton Roads Philharmonic is a mixed bag of musicians with a common bond: the music they love to play.
Founded less than two years ago, the community orchestra gave its first performance...

Virginia Wesleyan College's Center for the Study of Religious Freedom will host Rita M. Gross, a religious studies scholar and advanced Buddhist practitioner, for two events this week on campus.
Both programs are free and open to the public. The center...

Doctors drained a liter and a half of blood from one of Gov. Terry McAuliffe's lungs over the last few days, but don't worry, he plans to leave the hospital here Thursday.
"I don't want to jinx it," McAuliffe said Wednesday evening. "I...

A new exhibit opening Saturday at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center captures one of the nation's — and the Peninsula's — ugliest chapters in history with a thought-provoking collection of photographs, paintings and other works of art.
"Looking Both...

National parks will waive admission costs on Monday, Jan. 20 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Locally, national parks include Historic Jamestowne and Yorktown Battlefield. You can find a complete list of national parks that will waive fees on...

The Andrew Shannon Gospel Music Celebration, a free event happening Jan. 19 in Newport News, will feature performances by Hope Askew and Half Mile Home.
Half Mile Home is an Ohio-based band that cites influences ranging from The O'Jays and Lakeside to...

A Detroit-area community that targeted blacks by demolishing poor neighborhoods is scrambling to come up with money to finally end the case — 44 years after a federal judge found clear evidence of discrimination. The judge, Damon Keith, is now 93 years...

NEW YORK As Confederate flags, statues and monuments are reconsidered nationally in the wake of last month's mass shooting in Charleston, S.C., colleges and universities are also debating how to address campus buildings that commemorate the...

The oddest tune popped into my head while sitting in front of my TV watching the Confederate battle flag being taken down from the Capitol lawn in South Carolina.
"Ding Dong! The wicked witch is dead."
In the 1939 musical "The Wizard of...

The Confederate flag has no place on South Carolina Statehouse grounds, and it's past time to remove the symbol of hatred, a Republican state lawmaker said Saturday, days after the shooting massacre at a black church 100 miles away.
Rep. Doug Brannon,...

This is usually a happy time of year for college basketball, a chance for the game to take center stage with all eyes focused on March Madness.
But just days before the Final Four tips off in Indianapolis, the mood surrounding the tournament has turned...

It was a noble gesture intended to salve the wounds of this former mill town’s segregated past.
Mayor Welborn Adams and the local American Legion raised $15,000 for new plaques on the town’s war memorial to replace ones that designate the dead from World...

President Barack Obama's sixth State of the Union address turned out to be pretty much as previewed in a series of strategic spoilers doled out over the past few days: an interesting but doomed populist manifesto of tax cuts for the middle class, tax...

Churches, community groups and public officials plan volunteer events and services to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Illinois.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner plans to attend City Year Chicago's Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday. The group...

At the recent 2015 Golden Globe Awards, show host Tina Fey delivered one of the most poignant and effective jokes of the evening in regard to the multi-nominated film “Selma,” based on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.-led voting rights march from Selma...

Several gunshots were fired from a speeding vehicle outside Vice President Joe Biden’s Delaware home Saturday night, the Secret Service said Sunday, adding another security woe for the troubled agency.
Biden and his wife, Jill, were not home and there...

West Wins Silver In LugeTucker West of Ridgefield, who competed in luge in the Olympics last year, won a silver medal at the World Junior National championships in Lillehammer Friday. It was West's final singles race as a junior. West, 19, became...

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it's fitting that a former prison will present readings of historic words the civil rights leader wrote from a jail cell.
The Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site in Philadelphia has scheduled daily readings this...

After Chicago-area schools canceled classes two days last week because of brutally low temperatures and dangerous wind chills, many parents and other curmudgeons complained loudly.
The phrase "back in the day" was trending around office...